海角大神

The Colorado shooting at a midnight screening of the new Batman film聽is sending a chill throughout the聽entertainment industry.

Parents are holding their children out of midnight screenings, while theater chains are reviewing security procedures and assuring theatergoers they will be safe. And Warner聽Brothers, the studio behind the film,聽canceled the Friday night Paris premier of the movie and all interviews with the director and cast.

But security experts say this event is also a wakeup call about the need for more security at all types of large gatherings.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter if it鈥檚 a football game,聽Disneyland, Six Flags Over America, or a rock concert,鈥� says Jeffrey Slotnick, chair of the Physical Security Council聽of ASIS, a national trade organization聽devoted to industrial security needs.聽鈥淲e need to be more vigilant. Americans simply don鈥檛 have the luxury of walking around any more without paying attention to what might be going on.鈥�

Mr. Slotnick聽points to the year-old Department of Homeland Security program dubbed 鈥淚f You See Something, Say Something,鈥� which encourages all citizens to develop聽better antennae for detecting suspicious behavior and reporting it.

Take this Colorado shooting, which left 12 dead and 59 wounded, he says. 鈥淪omebody saw this man in the parking lot, maybe even going into the theater wherever he got access,鈥� he says, 鈥測ou can鈥檛 hide the four guns he was carrying, as well as ammunition and some kind of incendiary device.鈥�

Beyond that, says Ernest DelBuono,聽senior vice president at Levick Strategic communications, a Washington-based crisis聽 management firm, there are always signs and indications leading up to this extreme behavior.

鈥淣obody just wakes up and decides to pick up four military grade weapons and go off to a movie theater and shoot more than 50 people,鈥� he says.

Nonetheless,聽The National Association of聽Theater Owners has announced it is working with the Department of Homeland Security to review security聽procedures and policies for all its member exhibitors nationwide.

The nation鈥檚 three largest theater chains, Cinemark, Regal Entertainment, and AMC Entertainment, have condemned the violence and聽are reassuring consumers they will be safe in the theaters over the weekend.

Cinemark said in a statement that it was聽"deeply saddened" by the tragedy. In聽its statement, AMC聽echoed the feeling, stating, "We are terribly saddened by the random act of violence in Aurora and our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

鈥淔or the safety and security of our guests and associates,鈥� it added, 鈥渨e are actively working with local law enforcement in communities throughout the nation, and under the circumstances we are reaching out to all of our theaters to review our safety and security procedures.鈥�

The statement continues, "being a safe place in the community for all our guests is a top priority at AMC, and we take that responsibility very seriously.鈥�

At the same time, local theater聽managers are loath to discuss actual security enhancements.

Management at the Pacific Theaters Five in Sherman Oaks referred questions to the corporate office, which did not聽answer calls. However, the staff at this popular neighborhood cineplex were unaware of any adjustments聽being made to security. 鈥淣obody has said anything to us,鈥� pointed out聽Miguel, selling popcorn behind the counter.

Parents, on the other hand, are making their own adjustments.聽Fourteen year-old聽Andy Newman says his mother nixed聽his plan to go to a midnight screening Friday because of the shootings. 鈥淪he took me to a matinee instead and told me to call as soon as the movie was over,鈥� he says.

鈥淎mericans have yet to understand the threats to their safety, and regard security as an intrusion into their privacy,鈥� says Rachel Ehrenfeld, director of the American Center for Democracy, a New York-based research group.

鈥泪苍 Israel,鈥� she says via e-mail, 鈥渨ell-trained security personnel monitor the entrance to every public building, even supermarkets, and public awareness聽has stopped many terror attacks and saved many lives.鈥�

Younger Americans are already adjusting to the new normal, says April Masini, an online advice expert who specializes in聽youthful inquiries. She points to many high schools that have metal detectors to prevent weapons from being transported in backpacks onto campus. 鈥淲ith each act of violence, like the shooting in a Colorado movie theatre, the obvious need for more security becomes clearer,鈥� she writes in an e-mail.

The cost of the security will get added to the ticket price at theatres or whatever venue requires additional security, she notes.

We all will foot the bill because of lone gunmen such as the one in Colorado, she points out, adding,聽鈥渏ust like our kids can鈥檛 remember rotary dial telephones or children鈥檚 sneakers without Velcro, their kids won't be able to remember a time when they didn't have to check their backpacks and teenage purses at the door of the mall while they walk through a metal detector.鈥�

Staff writer Daniel B. Wood contributed to this report from Los Angeles